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Why Software Testing as a career?
As a fresh graduate one question faced by everyone is in which stream he/she should go. Traditionally software development has always been first choice for everyone with testing being 2 or 3 option or at times option of last resort.
But in past few years there is a change with testing becoming synonym to success of a IT company or product due to which there is a growing demand for professionally trained test engineers.
As per a survey there will be a need of 1,65,000 test engineers by the year 2014. Software Testing as a job was ranked among top 4 in IT industry with every 4th opening in a IT company being of a test engineer.
US companies loose $59 billon every year due to lack of software testing, Testing as an industry was estimated to be $9 billon in India alone which saw a growth of 47%.
Testing as a career can be broadly classified as below mentioned categories which can lead us from a beginner to an expert.
1) Automation Architect
2) Performance Tester
3) Scalability Tester
4) Systems Analyst
5) User Interface Analyst
6) Test Planner
7) Black Box Tester
When you think about your career ask yourself a question where I should be 5 years from now: In case you happen to acquire any one of the above specialties.
If you are an functional automation engineer or performance tester you will be paid higher than a software developer. Automation engineers are a rare breed and hard to come by on tools like HP QTP, Selenium , HP Loadrunner.
A average functional tester may be less paid than a average programmer but a good functional tester will be paid much more than a good programmer.
Even as a tester you can command exceptionally better pay packet & at the same time make your position more important & valuable for your present employer by:
1) Learning a wide range of testing techniques, and
2) Supplementing these techniques with good domain knowledge.
However, if you happen to be in an organization that is known for its little loyalty to the employees, it is better to develop more & more skills that are greatly valued in the market, even if they happen to be at the cost of your domain knowledge.
Best underlying principle of a success in career in testing: Try to identify the skills that are needed by your organization & acquire them.
